Ying Wutu was momentarily blinded by the wind and snow. When he opened his eyes again, the Fifth Prince had already jumped in front of him. In terms of status, both of them were captives of Jiang Shouzhu, both were slaves of a fallen nation. They were even wearing the same luxurious clothes. However, Ying Xiaowu was still clean and neat, his demeanor relaxed and lively, as if he were a pampered little prince on a trip. On the other hand, Ying Wutu was beaten beyond recognition.
“Why is it you again?” Ying Xiaowu took two steps back in disgust, looking Ying Wutu up and down with an unkind gaze, and said sarcastically, “You dare to wear my clothes? Do you think you deserve to wear the clothes of this prince? Take them off!”
Ying Wutu pursed his lips. He didn’t answer or react. He just squatted down, took the pants out of the basin, and continued to wring them dry, continuing his work.
“How dare you ignore this prince!” Ying Xiaowu was furious. He couldn’t deal with the enemy, but he could deal with Ying Wutu! Ying Xiaowu pounced on him, intending to tear off Ying Wutu’s clothes. At this moment, Ying Wutu was beaten half to death and couldn’t handle an ordinary woman, but he had been leading troops in battle for years, and his physique was much better than that of an average man. Facing the pampered little prince who had never done any hard work, he still had the strength to resist.
Ying Wutu used his frostbitten hands to grab Ying Xiaowu’s slender wrists, stopping his nonsense. Ying Xiaowu was greatly embarrassed. He suddenly noticed that Ying Wutu’s right pinky finger was raised in a strange position. He immediately understood and grabbed Ying Wutu’s pinky finger, forcefully bending it…
“Ah…” Ying Wutu screamed in pain and let go of his hand. His right pinky finger had been broken by the captives of the Ying Kingdom last night. He didn’t know who had stepped on it, but the broken pinky didn’t affect his work, so he had been enduring it. He didn’t expect it to be bent again at this moment. Bent by his own people. Even that wicked woman hadn’t bent his broken finger.
“Let’s see how you resist this time!” Ying Xiaowu saw Ying Wutu trembling in pain and was satisfied. He reached out to strip off his clothes…
“Fifth Prince.” Deputy Yan appeared at the right time. She had actually been observing for a while and had seen everything. Ying Xiaowu saw her and jumped up, immediately accusing Ying Wutu, who was still trembling on the ground, “He offended this prince first. I was just teaching him a lesson. By the way, is my meat cooked?” He then ran towards the boiling pot, completely ignoring the life and death of the person on the ground.
Ying Wutu took a deep breath and slowly sat up, his broken finger now even more severely injured.
Ying Xiaowu stood by the pot, looking left and right. Seeing that Deputy Yan had no intention of serving him meat, although he was arrogant, he only dared to bully Ying Wutu, and did not dare to command Deputy General Yan. He took an empty bowl, scooped out a piece of meat not even half the size of a palm, poured some soup into the bowl, and happily walked away with the small bowl.
Ying Wutu’s eyes were red with pain.
Deputy Yan said expressionlessly, “Take the basin, the general has instructed that there are still carpets to be washed.”
Ying Wutu hadn’t even wrung out the pants yet, and now his hand hurt even more, leaving him with even less strength. He straightened his clothes, which had been disheveled earlier, and struggled to get up from the ground. After brushing the snow off himself, he placed the half-dry pants over his arm, carried the water basin with both hands, and slowly followed Deputy Yan back.
The iron ball attached to his ankle dragged a trail through the snow.
At this time, Jiang Shouzhu was in the camp tent, looking over the inventory list.
All the valuable items from the Ying Kingdom’s palace had been inventoried and accounted for. The first batch was checked in the morning, and there was still another batch to check in the afternoon.
These small tasks were delegated to her subordinates.
Once everything was loaded onto the carriage, they could return to the capital.
Jiang Shouzhu was engrossed in the ledger when she heard a dragging sound. She knew the little rabbit was back, but her eyes remained on the ledger.
Ying Wutu placed the water basin by the entrance and saw a clothesline stretched across the entrance of the camp tent. He hung the pants, which he couldn’t wring out, on the line and slowly walked into her tent.
Her tent was really warm, much warmer than the cold wind outside.
Inside her tent, it was just her, without the many gazes that scrutinized him outside.
Moreover, she didn’t even look over at him.
Was she reading a book?
Ying Wutu’s right hand was still trembling. It would be great if his broken finger could be bandaged.
He didn’t say a word and moved to the blood-stained carpet, squatting down and using a brush to clean it bit by bit.
With a swish, Jiang Shouzhu turned a page of the ledger. She still didn’t lift her head, as if talking to herself, “Did you get into a fight?”
Ying Wutu paused his carpet scrubbing, knowing that nothing that happened here would escape the eyes of this wicked woman.
“It was just the Fifth Prince joking with me”, Ying Wutu said, unable to stop gasping from the pain.
How long would this broken finger hurt?
When it was broken last night, it hurt for a while and then went numb. As long as it wasn’t touched, it didn’t hurt much. But just now, the Fifth Prince had bent it harshly, causing him to tremble in pain.
“Are you defending him? Give me a reason”, Jiang Shouzhu said, turning another page of the ledger, though she hadn’t actually read a word.
“No… it was really just a joke.” Ying Wutu didn’t want to tell Jiang Shouzhu the truth. What would be the point?
To complain? To ask her to stand up for him?
What could she do?
This was a grudge between the people of the Ying Kingdom.
Ying Wutu knew that the Fifth Prince resented him for losing the battle and for deceiving him as a man. He held a grudge, just like the sisters in the prisoner camp.
In any case, he wouldn’t beg for mercy from the enemy, even though he had seen the Fifth Prince do so.
“A joke? Are you two close?” Jiang Shouzhu turned another page, though it was blank, and she still looked down at the ledger.
Ying Wutu just gave a light “hmm.” He didn’t want to explain too much to the enemy. He just wanted to quickly clean the bloodstains from the carpet to get a moment’s respite. His finger hurt too much.
“If you’re so close, did he share his meat with you just now?” Jiang Shouzhu closed the ledger, no longer pretending, and stared directly at Ying Wutu.
Ying Wutu swallowed involuntarily. He was so hungry that his stomach hurt. While washing clothes in the kitchen earlier, he could constantly smell the meat cooking in the pot.
“I don’t like meat”, Ying Wutu recalled his earlier excuse.
“That’s right, you little men don’t like meat, to keep your slim figures. My little servants at home are the same. In that case, you’re much more sensible and understanding than the Fifth Prince”, Jiang Shouzhu said.
Ying Wutu’s brush fell to the carpet, bouncing once. He felt strange hearing this, but couldn’t pinpoint why.
He didn’t want to be compared to the Fifth Prince or even her little servants.
He had a sense of pride.
But having fallen to this point, he couldn’t talk about pride. He could only pick up the brush, endure the pain in his hand, and continue scrubbing the carpet.
Finally, he was almost done.
But why was the wicked woman staring?
What other wicked idea did she have?
With a clang, an object fell not far from Ying Wutu.
He looked up to see.
It was his short sword.
He didn’t dare to immediately pick it up. Instead, he looked at Jiang Shouzhu in confusion.
“This was originally your sword. I am returning it to its rightful owner”, Jiang Shouzhu said with a smile in her eyes.
Ying Wutu felt her smile was sinister. What was she up to now?
Regardless, since she was voluntarily returning it, he immediately moved his heavy steps over and picked up the short sword. His right hand was still trembling, and he felt a surge of emotion as he unsheathed the sword and saw the blade was intact.
It was indeed his sword.
His eyes lit up.
Jiang Shouzhu watched his every move. It was the first time she had seen a man’s eyes light up for a sword. The men she had seen before only lit up for beautiful clothes and jewelry.
The little rabbit was truly different.
“In fact, you’re better-looking than the Fifth Prince”, Jiang Shouzhu said sincerely.
The world said that the Fifth Prince of the Ying Kingdom was stunningly beautiful, but it was because Ying Wutu always dressed as a woman and deliberately made himself look ugly that the world didn’t know.
Jiang Shouzhu knew. She had soaked the little rabbit in water and seen him from head to toe. Of course, she knew.
Ying Wutu didn’t respond, but his hand gripped tighter. Why was this woman praising him again?
“Hiss…”
He took another sharp breath. His finger hurt so much.
“Little rabbit, you are my spoils of war. I won’t allow anyone to harm you, nor will I allow anyone to strip your clothes. Only I can strip your clothes. So, I’ll give you a chance to take revenge yourself”, Jiang Shouzhu said, her playful nature surfacing again. She had been planning this since the Fifth Prince scolded Ying Wutu.
“I don’t understand. I wasn’t bullied”, Ying Wutu continued to play dumb, still trying to cover for the Fifth Prince. “Besides, aren’t you taking the Fifth Prince back to the capital alive? I can’t do that.”
He didn’t want to fight his own people.
“Are you planning for me now? No need. Or are you afraid he’ll break your finger again? Don’t worry, he’s sleeping soundly now and won’t break your finger again. He won’t even know it was you. Although I have to take the Fifth Prince back to the capital, it’s a long journey of three thousand miles. If the delicate little prince gets bruised or injured, it’s only natural, and I won’t care.”
The kitchen had cooked a separate piece of meat for the Fifth Prince, not to give him special treatment, but because it was laced with a sleeping drug.
The drug would make him sleep for an hour.
The Fifth Prince had eagerly eaten the meat upon returning to his tent and was now unconscious.
Jiang Shouzhu waved her hand, and Deputy Yan stood at the entrance of the tent, ready to lead the way.
Ying Wutu knew he had no choice but to go.
He gripped his short sword and stood at the entrance of her tent, as if nailed to the spot.
“Little rabbit, if you don’t bring back what I want to see, you’ll have a hard time tonight”, Jiang Shouzhu said, waving her hand.
Deputy Yan pushed Ying Wutu’s shoulder, urging him to move.
Ying Wutu shivered at her threat. This wicked woman had many ways to torment people. The mark on his chest hadn’t even scabbed over yet.
But how could he raise a blade against his own people?
The wicked woman wanted to see infighting, but he wouldn’t let her have her way.
As for what he would face tonight…
Ying Wutu couldn’t imagine, and he had no choice.
The snow outside began to fall again.
The soldiers still counting treasures in the Ying Kingdom’s palace quickened their pace, aiming to load everything onto the carriages before dark so the army could set off the next day.
Jiang Shouzhu stood at the entrance of the camp tent, wrapped in a fox fur cloak. She listened to the continuous dripping sound beside her and looked towards it.
It turned out to be her trousers.
The bloodstains on the trouser leg had been washed clean.
That useless man, the little rabbit, wasn’t the least bit diligent. He couldn’t even wring the trousers dry, and now they were hanging outside in the freezing winter…
Wait a minute, the little rabbit was quite clever to hang the wrung but not dried trousers over the fire, where they would dry without freezing into two stiff rods.
No wonder they were still dripping.
Jiang Shouzhu smiled, wondering what news the little rabbit would bring back later.
In fact, she had arranged for Deputy Yan to keep an eye on things. She was just testing and couldn’t really harm the Fifth Prince, who was appointed by the emperor.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to explain herself.
The reason she wanted to play this way was because it reminded her of hunting in the mountains when she was young.
At that time, she had a very obedient hunting dog. On the way back home with a full load of game, they were blocked by eleven wild dogs.
She could have ridden away, but with so many wild dogs, if one bit the horse’s leg and startled it, it would have been worse. So, she had to deal with the wild dogs to leave.
At that moment, her quiver was empty, and it took some time to pull arrows from the game. Her hunting dog barked fiercely at the wild dogs for a long time.
In the end, the hunting dog bought her time, she prepared enough arrows, and shot all the wild dogs. However, her hunting dog was also killed by them.
She took the game and the hunting dog home and buried the dog in the backyard garden with her own hands.
As she shoveled dirt onto the dog, she wondered what the dog and wild dogs had been barking about for so long.
Did it realize they were actually the same species?
And what about Ying Wutu?
The wind and snow outside grew stronger. Jiang Shouzhu wrapped herself tighter in the fox fur and went back to drink tea.
